@Cupcake Five coments in a treshold of three minutes, when editing treshold for a particular comment is four minutes. Wouldn't it be better to put all links to one comment instead of making mess like here above?
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trejderDec 10 '14 at 8:16

5 Answers
5

It's better to post two different answers than to put them both into one answer.

Some questions will be multiple-answer types directly, like tips-and-tricks or best-practices. This allows the ones the community feels are the best/correct to float to the top.

Some computer languages have a lot of flexibility in how to solve any one problem, so by listing them both as separate answers (if very distinct) they can both be voted on by the community, and this will allow the better answer to float to the top. It also allows the comment threads to be more focused on each answer.

If you put two very different answers in one, then one could be a great answer, and one could be a terrible way to do things, but the upvotes (or downvotes) on the good (or bad) answer will drag the other along with it to the top (or bottom).

only if they are radically and totally different answers, and even then I am not sure I agree.
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Jeff Atwood♦Oct 8 '09 at 22:36

14

Out of curiosity, Jeff, if you don't agree with answering a question twice, why does Stack Overflow let you?
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Super Long Names are HilariousOct 8 '09 at 22:38

2

All of the multiple answers I've given to questions have been for non-specific questions on SO, though on SU I've given distinct 'tips' or 'shortcuts' as different answers. I can see though with some languages having multiple ways of doing it, putting both answers in so the community can vote on which is the 'best-practice' way of doing things.
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Lance RobertsOct 8 '09 at 22:42

1

chris, you have to click through a special confirmation dialog to add a second answer. Does that answer your question?
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Jeff Atwood♦Oct 8 '09 at 22:52

21

@Jeff - Not really. It means you admit that there may be a valid reason for someone to answer a question twice, which counteracts your argument here that you don't think there is a valid reason to answer a question twice.
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Super Long Names are HilariousOct 9 '09 at 5:38

I've posted twice to an answer (and got a * Answer badge for both of them), but it was one of those old-fashioned poll-type "fun" questions that we wouldn't tolerate these days, so I don't think it's a good example at all.
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EtherFeb 6 '10 at 17:34

What do you think about this question? Is it ok to post multiple answers on this, like I have done?
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StarxApr 25 '12 at 5:10

@Starx, I think those are fine as different answers, though you could also combine them as alternatives in one answer. It might even boost the top answer more, since it will have more content and people will think it more valueable.
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Lance RobertsApr 25 '12 at 5:30

I disagree with "It's better to post two different answers, than to put them into one answer." A single post with multiple approaches is more authoritative that multiple posts, if for no other reason than people like to read the headlines and might easily skip the 2nd or 3rd answer.
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John DiblingJun 5 '13 at 17:29

2

@JohnDibling, it's better because they will both get separate voting, so the better answer will float to the top.
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Lance RobertsJun 5 '13 at 17:40

@John Kugelman, this Meta works for all sites, some of which allow those.
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Lance RobertsDec 4 '13 at 20:10

1

@LanceRoberts not only is it good to post separate answers for voting purposes, but also for commenting.
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DennisJun 7 '14 at 20:01

1

Do you think this answer is still good advice? I'm a little concerned about the way it seems to endorse poll questions (which we often close) as well as the degree to which it encourages splitting up answers on non-SO sites. I'm a mod on cooking, where it's pretty common for there to be a couple aspects of a question, and more than one good idea, and I feel like if people interpret "distinct answers" pretty literally, we'd end up with way too many answers and way too little organization.
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JefromiJan 11 at 19:24

1

I agree with your answer, and it's true that poll questions invite such answers. But it seems that new users read into it more than it's saying, namely that poll questions are welcome (and should be answered with multiple answers). Could you please indicate in some way that this is not the case and that in current policy, poll questions should not be answered at all? I'd edit it myself, but I don't want to make radical edits to your post. This won't make your answer any less valid, as there are other cases where multiple answers are still welcome.
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rumtschoJan 11 at 19:53

I have already had a couple of "real" (e.g. not a poll or fluff or humor) questions where I answered with 2 or even 3 solutions, explaining the reasons to pick each one. And i'm a relative newbie on SO (only 4k rep).

One place where this situation is especially likely to come true is Perl (aka ThereIsMoreThanOneWayToDoIt language).

While I usually squeeze all my ideas into a single post in such situations, I greatly appreciate the ability to NOT put them in one basket, so to speak - e.g. when I feel that posting one of the answers is education and adds to the site's useful content, yet the other one is "more deserving" (e.g. cuter/more elegant) and you don't want the up/down votes from one to affect the other.

so they can be voted on, so the best 'answers' will float to the top, not have one be voted on and drag the other with it.
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Lance RobertsOct 8 '09 at 22:43

1

@random: That's what I do most of the times. An answer and a complement/alternatives/workarounds. But when the answers are totally different, better is to post them separated. The first answer my solve directly the problem ( how to shoot your self in the foot ) the other may go either deeper, or in another direction or simply point something that on your experience is not what the user asked but what he needs ( like NOT shooting him self on the foot, when he can shoot someone else's foot in first place? )
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OscarRyzOct 8 '09 at 22:49

Jeff - I fear I must point out a counter-example for you. In 2 words: "Perl" questions. I can frequently think of 5 different ways of answering a given question before even getting my breakfast, to paraphrase from Alice.
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DVKOct 9 '09 at 2:56

P.S. However, I agree that, with some exceptions, the practice of posting multiple answers is Not A Good Thing, and therefore highly approve of SO's solution (allow but add extra hoops to do so).
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DVKOct 9 '09 at 2:58

I can't think of a good reason for doing that, except for polls, which are not welcome (except occasionally on meta sites).

If you have two solutions to the same problem, post them in a single answer. Explain when you would use this solution and when you would use that solution. This is better than two separate answers that don't address when to use each solution. For example: “If you have version 1, do <this>. If you have version 2, you can use <this simpler solution> instead.”